Every year, a teacher is chosen for his or her excellent work and dedication to their students. This year’s teacher of the year, Ms. Shauna Waters, is a wonderful example of a teacher who has gone above and beyond to help students and motivates them to enjoy learning. Let’s explore more about Ms. Waters and her story.
Growing up, Ms. Waters would watch her mother teach. At the time, she did not want to become a teacher. She states, “As a teacher’s kid, I did not want to go into education, but slowly, step by step, that’s where I wound up, and I love what I do, but I did not start out to be a school teacher.” It wasn’t until Ms. Waters went on a mission trip to Costa Rica, where she found her passion in helping others, that she realized she wanted to pursue teaching. After talking to the people around the area, she realized they needed better English proficiency, which sparked her interest in teaching English to speakers of other languages. This would lead her to Indiana and Japan, where she would go off to teach English. After some time, she ended up coming back to America to be with her family and has resided here ever since.
When asked about her favorite part of teaching, she speaks of her students and watching them “grow and change.” She focuses on creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication as the main foundation to help kids express themselves and learn efficiently. She says, “My platform as teacher of the year is to encourage teachers to be change makers in their schools and also for themselves, and as encouraging the community to be a change maker in the way they support the school, and for everybody to continue to reach for learning and growth.”
Ms. Waters’ students shared why they believed she was the perfect example of Teacher of the Year. Connor Buse, a senior, says, “Ms.Waters is easily the best English teacher I’ve ever had…she makes sure you have a concept down so that you can move on and learn. She’s very accepting and I believe that’s her best attribute. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’ve learned in the past, you WILL be treated with the same calm, joking way that she treats everyone else.” Misty Johnson, a junior at West Lauderdale, states, “Ms. Waters is the perfect example of teacher of the year, because she engages in understanding of what she teaches and genuinely wants students to learn. Her intelligence inspires and is a huge influence to me personally. I admire that outside of teaching, she involves herself in helping with student clubs. She’s overall an amazing teacher.”
Ms. Waters, though she was honored, was very surprised to have been chosen as Teacher of the Year. She states, “My very first phrase was ‘Really?’ But I am blessed to be chosen, I am grateful and honored to be chosen.” She believes that she was chosen due to her hard work while doing the best she can, focusing on helping and motivating her students to learn and grow. Congratulations to Ms. Waters for earning the title and proving her dedication every day.
